Kirklees

Main Urban Centre: Key heritage-rich town centre with employment and regeneration opportunities.

Location

Covering around 58 hectares, Huddersfield Town Centre is a key hub for the Kirklees region. Numerous A roads feed into the SPA, while the central train station also enables strong access into the wider reaches of both rural and urban Yorkshire.

Context

Huddersfield Town Centre SPA provides key retail, employment, leisure and higher education opportunities in the Kirklees district. It has a large number of listed buildings that reflect its strong heritage.

The Huddersfield Blueprint sets out the vision and ambitions for the town centre up to 2031 and this provides a framework to capitalise and build on the unique aspects and character of Huddersfield, all while promoting its regeneration and bringing forward new uses.

Significant upgrades are already taking place, including the town’s rail and bus stations, the George Hotel, Kingsgate shopping complex, New Street and various listed buildings in the core. These are supported by other transport and active travel improvement routes.

Opportunity

• 6,700 square metres for employment
• An innovation campus led by the University of Huddersfield
• Priority areas include:
  • Queensgate Cultural Heart
  • Station Gateway
  • St Peter’s
  • Kingsgate and King Street
  • New Street
  • The Civic Quarter
  • Trinity Street
  • Waterfront and Southgate

Investment Location – Housing: A sustainable urban development with scope for 4,000 new homes, community amenities and green spaces.

Location

Dewsbury Riverside lies approximately 2 miles to the south of Dewsbury Town Centre and half a mile to Ravensthorpe centre.

It is bordered by residential properties along Ravensthorpe Road and Lees Hall Road, the railway line and Ravenshall School, tree belts and woodland.

The site is approximately 160ha in size. This includes an existing housing allocation (13.1ha), land allocated as Provisional Open Land (7.37ha) and 138ha of land in the Green Belt.

Context

Dewsbury Riverside is a key site within the North Kirklees Growth Zone, which is identified as a priority area for housing growth in the Leeds City Region Strategic Economic Plan.

Within this context, Dewsbury Riverside is seen as an important part of a regionally significant growth initiative, unlocking the area’s potential to become more prosperous by providing new jobs and homes.

Dewsbury Riverside is a proposed sustainable urban extension to the south of the town and includes 4,000 new homes, a local centre, retail, primary care facilities, schools and highway infrastructure along with a network of connected green spaces and amenity areas.

The scale of the development is intended to be large enough to allow a degree of “market repositioning” and thereby to act as a catalyst for the regeneration of the wider area.

Opportunity

• Dewsbury Riverside is a housing allocation in the Kirklees Local Plan £22.5 million Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) bid to deliver the wider site requirements, unlocking a new access from Forge Lane;
• New local centre with retail, community, and health and education provision.
• Improvements to Ravensthorpe Railway Station and the trans-Pennine rail link as part of Network Rail’s proposed Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade (TRU) creating an attractive location for commuters to Leeds, Manchester and beyond.

Investment Location - Housing: Prospective housing and mixed uses location to the south-west of Huddersfield.

Location

Manchester Road/Blackmoorfoot Road Corridor SPA is located approximately two miles south-west of Huddersfield. The surrounding area is predominantly residential, with some commercial warehouses, green spaces and a school. The majority of the site is within 1km of Lockwood Train Station.

Context

The Manchester Road/Blackmoorfoot Road Corridor SPA totals 80 hectares and is formed from a cluster of allocated housing (to the west and south) and mixed-use sites (to the east).

These represent a key area of growth in the Crosland Moor area to the south-west of Huddersfield town centre, which itself is undergoing significant investment and regeneration to deliver a thriving, modern town centre.

Avant Homes is presently delivering the mixed-use site in the eastern section. The emerging transport scheme at Long Royd Bridge Junction is a priority for the SPA that is enabling the development.

Opportunity

• Allocation for 1,200 housing units
• Priority sides include:
  • Land east of Thewlis Lane
  • Land north of Blackmoorfoot Road
  • Land to the east known as the Black Cat site
  • Land south of Blackmoorfoot Road

Investment Location - Housing: A strategic site for housing that adjoins the North Kirklees border.

Location

Bradley Park lies on the border of Kirklees and Calderdale, to the south of Brighouse and around 4km north of Huddersfield. It has excellent road connections with links to the M62, A641 and A6107.

Context

As a key element of the Garden Village SPA Cluster, Bradley Park is an area of 69 hectares that is seeking to promote inclusive growth and transformational change.

A key objective for the site is to create a strong physical identity for those who will live there and for future generations.

It holds strategic significance due to its strong road connections, while the site itself aims to be walkable with significant green spaces.

Opportunity

• A substantial housing allocation of around 2,000 units, with the majority falling within an area of council ownership
• Plans for a local centre, enhanced green infrastructure and a school

Investment Location: A site of strategic importance with a focus on manufacturing, engineering and housing delivery.

Location

Located to the east of the A653 (Leeds Road) dual carriageway, which is a strategic corridor between Dewsbury and Leeds.

In the immediate vicinity of the Site, Leeds Road runs in a north-south direction, adjoining the A638 (Wakefield Road) and Junction 28 (the Tingley Interchange) of the M62 Motorway to the north.

In addition, the A638 (Wakefield Road) links with the M1 Motorway Junction 40 to the east of the Site. The Site extends to Hey Beck Lane to the north and Chidswell Lane to the south.

Context

Chidswell is identified as a site of strategic importance for employment with a focus on manufacturing and engineering providing opportunities to grow businesses in a sustainable location aligned to existing and new residential areas and with excellent access to the strategic highway network.

Opportunity

A highly sustainable location with the opportunity to deliver:

• 1,535 dwellings
• 35ha of employment development (indicative capacity of 122,500 sqm),
• a primary school, green spaces, and supporting uses.

Planning Permission

The site befits from outline planning permission for a mixed use scheme comprising:

• residential development (up to 1,354 dwellings)
• employment development (up to 35 hectares of B1(part a and c), B2, B8 uses)
• residential institution (C2) development (up to 1 hectare)
• a local centre (comprising A1/A2/A3/A4/A5/D1 uses)
• a 2 form entry primary school including early years provision, green space, access and other associated infrastructure.

Investment Location - Employment & Housing: An inclusive growth corridor with housing, employment and mixed-use allocations.  

Location

The Cooper Bridge SPA is strategically located between Huddersfield and Mirfield. The site covers 49 hectares and excellent road access is provided by the A62 and A644. A mixture of residential, warehouse and agriculture comprise the surroundings of the SPA.

Context

Cooper Bridge SPA is allocated for a range of uses in the Kirklees Local Plan and comprises employment, housing and mixed-use allocations. In total these allocations equate to a total gross area of 22.09 hectares.

Cooper Bridge sits within the Garden Village SPA cluster and both Kirklees Council and Calderdale Council have ambitions to promote inclusive growth and transformational change across the area.

The long-term aspiration is for employment and housing growth along this corridor, with much of the work already completed, underway or within the planning stage.

Opportunity

• Housing and mixed-use allocations provide capacity for 200 dwellings
• Employment and mixed-use allocations providing a total of 14.8 hectares of employment land
• Priority sites include the former wastewater works to the south-east of Cooper Bridge roundabout and 12 hectares at the mixed-use AAA Park site to the east of Slipper Lane.

Investment Location - Regeneration: The site presents an opportunity to regenerate central Batley.

Location

Batley SPA is well connected via the A652, B6123, and train station access to the south of the site. These provide access to urban hubs in the region, including Dewsbury.

There are good local centres that offer a range of shopping, along with a major retail park at Birstall. The area enjoys a well-established greenway network and a number of opportunities for walking and cycling.

Context

The 13-hectare Batley SPA forms part of the wider North Kirklees Growth Zone SPA cluster and its SPA status reflects the council’s ambition to strengthen the role of town centre to support its vitality and viability. Incomes vary here, but the SPA falls within the lowest Index of Multiple Deprivation rankings in West Yorkshire.

Opportunity

• Allocations for approximately 750 new dwellings
• Key sites for enhancement include Batley Bus Station, Commercial Street, Market Place and Cambridge Street
• Significant Levelling Up Fund 2 support for town centre projects

Investment Location - Regeneration: A large SPA with scope to transform the site through integrated housing and economic development.

Location

Dewsbury SPA is an extensive area that covers 1,500 hectares. The SPA encompasses both Dewsbury and Ravensthorpe train stations, with both A and B roads permeating the area. Currently, a variety of residential, retail and warehouse uses feature across the area. There is green space and light woodland, while the River Calder also meanders through the site.

Context

Dewsbury is witnessing an ambitious period of investment and regeneration that has seen major successes, particularly in the town centre via the Dewsbury Town Deal and Townscape Heritage Initiative.

The Dewsbury Town Investment Plan takes forward the Dewsbury Blueprint, a 10-year plan for the town, that seeks to build on recent investments, aiming to bring more activity into the town centre and make it more attractive, while also improving accessibility.

Dewsbury SPA forms a key element of the North Kirklees Growth Zone SPA Cluster. The aim is to transform this strategic location, driving it with integrated housing and economic development in the town centre and through connections with nearby communities.

Opportunity

• Allocation for over 1,400 dwellings
• Priority sites include:
  • Dewsbury’s town centre
  • Cannon Way (10 hectares)
  • Mill Street East (15 hectares)
  • Calder Bank Road (14 hectares)
• Significant Town Deal Investment

Future Growth Location: Advancing wellbeing and prosperity through health innovation, environmental improvement and clean growth.

Location

Connecting Huddersfield Train Station, the University and the John Smiths Stadium, this area is a strategic location to the north east of Huddersfield Town Centre and acts as a key gateway into the town from the A62 Leeds Road and the Train Station.

The are includes the University of Huddersfield's National Health Innovation Campus at Southgate, a major Invesment in translational health and wellbeing research, major employers including Cummins Turbo Technologies and Polyseam plus successful educational facilities at the Kirklees College campus.

Context

The Station to Stadium Enterprise Corridor vision is to create a thriving, connected and enterprising district advancing well-being and prosperity though health innovation, environmental improvement and clean growth.

The area includes undeveloped and underutilised land, providing opportunities to build on the existing strong links to the University and College, existing and proposed innovation hubs to support growth in innovation businesses and advanced manufacturing.

It is aligned to the Huddersfield Blueprint, anchor employers, leisure uses, transport connections and opportunities to create and enhance green space.

Opportunities

• Creation of a Health Innovation Campus – with opportunities for incubator space.
• Brownfield sites of Gasworks Street
• Underutilised land and buildings
• Greenspace improvements along the canal and river corridors, creating attractive breakout space and active travel routes
• Proposed Heat Network
• Network Rail’s proposed Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade (TRU) creating improved links to Leeds, Manchester and beyond